Recycling has been pushed on the public since pollution first became a growing concern decades ago. No one has really questioned it until recently, but now, there’s a lot of criticism regarding the recycling industry, and people want alternatives that actually work. 

Packaging is one of the major sources of pollution in the world, and today we want to compare two methods of disposing of packaging instead of just tossing it in the trash. One is recycling, and the other is using biodegradable packaging, to begin with. 

Let’s get started. 

Recycling Packaging

When you recycle packaging, from whatever items you’ve purchased, you probably think that it goes to a big, fancy, center that processes it all and turns it into useful things. Well, that’s the point of it, but that’s not exactly how that turns out. 

You spend hours every week sorting through your disposable items and putting them into the right type of recycling bin. You then either take those bins to a recycling center, using your own gas and time, to drop them off and do the right thing, or you pay your hard-earned money for trash service to do that for you. From there, you get to feel good about doing your part to save the planet. 

Unfortunately, much of your effort was wasted. 

The vast majority of items sent to the recycling center are rejected and sent to a landfill. That’s right, all of the stuff you’ve spent time, money, and energy preparing for recycling just ends up in the same place as it would if you just tossed it in the bin. 

You can somewhat offset this by reusing packaging that you can find a use for, but realistically speaking, you can’t do that for most of it. Your house will fill up pretty quickly, and then you have another problem. 

Biodegradable Packaging

Biodegradable packaging is very different. It’s not meant to be recycled at all, and you can feel perfectly fine about tossing it in the bin or even composting it. 

Items such as biodegradable mailing bags, grocery bags, product packaging, and more are all made from materials that naturally breakdown, without harming the environment in as little as a week to a month. Compared to the nearly 500 years it takes for plastic to fully disintegrate, a month really isn’t that long. Plus, if you compost it, you can use it to feed your garden. 

Not sticking around in the environment isn’t the only benefit presented by these bags, though. They also reduce the need for plastic manufacturing, and if everyone switched to them, plastic production would be minimized. 

Currently, a majority of businesses have switched to compostable packaging solutions because they strike a fine balance between eco-friendliness and affordability. Home-based businesses are one of the major users of these packaging solutions. For instance, a home business that sells bath bombs is likely to package its products in bulk cello bags, owing to its glossy clear film-like appearance, which is appealing at best, and its biodegradable characteristics. Unlike polythene bags that take around 1000 years to decompose, environment-friendly cello bags only take 2 months.

However, they’re not made from trees. They’re made from an invasive, destructive, form of seaweed. That seaweed species harms coastal regions around the world, and we need to get rid of it, anyway. So, by using these biodegradable products, we prevent plastic manufacturing, don’t rely on trees, and protect the ocean. 

Biodegradable Wins

The recycling industry is so ineffective it’s basically insulting to people who spend their time sorting garbage for it every day. Biodegradable packaging is great for the environment in several ways, and it doesn’t need to be recycled. It’s clear which one you should choose.

Infographic Created By Meyer Industrial, Makers of High-Quality Double Flap Airlock Valves